Change is a Bruin, as UCLA fires Howland

Ben Howland's 10-year run as UCLA's coach came to an end with Friday's 20-point loss to Minnesota in a second-round NCAA Tournament game. ARMANDO BROWN, FILE, FOR THE REGISTER

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UCLA coach Ben Howland has been fired, the school announced Sunday. ERIC GAY, AP

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UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland yells during the first half of the game versus the Washington State Cougars. Howland has now coached the Bruins to an 18-6 record. They beat the Cougars at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2013. ISAAC ARJONILLA, FILE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA head coach Ben Howland at the Bruins' game against Oregon on January 19 at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FILE, FOR THE REGISTER

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UCLA head coach Ben Howland yells out instructions during the second half of his team's overtime loss to USC at Pauley Pavillion on January 30. ARMANDO BROWN, FILE, FOR THE REGISTER

LOS ANGELES – After a decade as UCLA's basketball coach – a span that included three consecutive Final Four appearances and the most triumphs of any Bruins coach since John Wooden put the program on the map – Ben Howland was fired Sunday night.

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said that, despite the perceived inevitably of the move, the decision to fire the Bruins' longtime coach was only made Sunday and that Howland was informed Sunday night, contrary to previous reports.

With five years remaining on his contract through 2017, Howland's buyout amounts to $3.5 million, with $2.3 million coming in the first year. Those numbers, however, are subject to mitigation.

Howland's dismissal had been widely anticipated since the Bruins went out with a whimper in a 20-point loss to Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But even before the loss, Howland's reputation among the UCLA fan base had unmistakably gone sour, despite him having pulled in the nation's No. 1 recruiting class before the season and followed with a Pac-12 regular-season title.

After meeting with Howland after UCLA missed the NCAA Tournament after last season, Guerrero said that he wanted to give Howland another opportunity to "try to get (the program) on stable footing." But looking ahead to next season, Guerrero decided now was the time to start UCLA in a different direction.

"The evaluation of a coach involves a number of other things besides just wins and losses," Guerrero said. "And as I looked at the entire program and where I felt we were, especially heading into next year – which is obviously where we need to look at this point in time – I felt that now was the appropriate time to make a decision to make a change and get a fresh start."

Guerrero stopped short of saying that UCLA's declining attendance played a significant role in Howland's firing – "I would certainly not lay all of that on Ben's shoulders, by any stretch of the imagination," he said. But in reference to a question about whether Jordan Adams' injury had doomed Howland, Guerrero did point to UCLA's depth problems this season – which stemmed from two midseason transfers – as one of the potential reasons for the dismissal.

"The important thing is when you look at that particular injury and what was left of our roster just in a general sense, I think it's important to note the fact that we had such a depleted roster, in many respects, is, in part, one of the reasons for making a decision," Guerrero said.

Howland's tenure was nothing short of tumultuous near the end, as UCLA was rocked by a Sports Illustrated article that portrayed the program as having deteriorating values and the coach lacking institutional control. He also lost future All-Mountain West players Chace Stanback, Mike Moser, Matt Carlino, and Drew Gordon to transfers.

Still, in his decade-long era as coach, Howland undoubtedly wasone of the most successful basketball coaches in school history, going to three consecutive Final Fours and once falling one victory short of UCLA's first title since 1995. But with his teams marked by inconsistencies and a failure to live up to the high expectations since, fans began to grow tired of his coaching style, which was known for its plodding, halfcourt nature.

"I know that Ben got a lot of knocks for style of play, but Ben Howland is a very good coach," Guerrero said.

But in the Bruins' new coach, Guerrero said UCLA will "look at someone that can play a fun brand of basketball."

"Certainly we don't want to bring in a coach that's going to average 50 points per game," Guerrero said.

Beyond that, Guerrero was relatively mum on what he's looking for in the Bruins' next coach, only noting that he would be looking for someone to "excite the fan base".

A number of potential candidates have been tossed around the rumor mill so far, including VCU's Shaka Smart, Butler's Brad Stevens, Villanova's Jay Wright, North Carolina State's Mark Gottfried, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Florida's Billy Donovan, and former Lakers coach Mike Brown. But it seems for now, UCLA will settle in for the long coaching search ahead.

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